In modern times, vehicles, such as, e.g., trucks, buses, cars and the like, often include a variety of electronic devices for an assortment of purposes. By way of example, vehicles can often include one or more of the following electronic devices: citizens band (CB) radios; AM/FM radios; cassette players; CD players; DVD players; video players; cellular phones; global position system (GPS) devices; radar detectors; entertainment devices; computers; etc. Often, these electronic devices are ancillary electronic devices that are not required for the operation of the vehicle itself, but for other purposes (such as, e.g., for business use or operator convenience) during the time period in which the operator is within the vehicle.
However, along with this increase in the number of ancillary electronic devices comes the need for features and structures to accommodate these ancillary electronic devices. The requirements imposed upon vehicle dash boards, consoles and other interior elements have, thus, increased over recent years, becoming increasingly complex and costly. Among other things, consoles often need to accommodate a variety of ancillary electronic devices. Meanwhile, there is also an increasing need to provide vehicle operators with increased vehicle storage space. As the complexities of vehicle dash boards, consoles and the like increase so do the costs related to the manufacture of these components.
While the foregoing issues are germane to both family vehicles (such as, e.g., cars and the like) and commercial vehicles (such as, e.g., trucks, buses and the like), these issues are often more significant in the context of commercial vehicles because, among other things, commercial entities often have business needs to, among other things, a) limit costs, b) increase productivity, and c) reduce equipment down time.
With reference to FIG. 7, in some existing trucks of the present assignee, an overhead compartment 10 has been implemented for storage and for supporting a CB radio. In such implementations, the compartment 10 has a length in a lateral direction L that is substantially smaller than a width of the truck in which the compartment 10 is installed. In order to mount a CB radio (not shown), a mounting strap 15 (e.g., a strap that is manually attached using hook and loop fastening fabric such as, e.g., VELCRO fastening fabric) has been used to retain the CB radio. In order to mount the compartment 10 within a vehicle, the compartment 10 has been fixedly attached to a headliner (not shown) of the truck via a plurality of mounting brackets BK, which facilitate attachment to the headliner via bolts B.
While the system shown in FIG. 7 provides convenient overhead access for an operator, it is appreciated that there are a variety of limitations associated with such systems. Among other things, the present invention considers a) that it can be difficult to install a CB radio into such a system (which has limited manual manipulation room for the strap 15, the power connectors, etc.), b) that a substantial number of components (e.g., including mounting brackets, etc.) are required in such a system, and c) that a substantial number of components parts and associated costs are required to manufacture such a system. Thus, there has been a need to improve such systems to overcome one or more of the above and/or other limitations therein.
In addition to the foregoing background art, a variety of other systems and devices are also known. By way of example, additional background documents include:                a) U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,072, which shows an overhead “accessory support device for [a] vehicle windshield and [a] method of installing;”        b) U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,010, which shows an overhead “mounting system for equipment in police vehicles;”        c) U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,193, which shows an overhead “shelf for a vehicle cab;”        d) U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,190, which shows an “overhead instrument console;”        e) U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,460, which shows an overhead “long-distance truck cabin;” and        f) U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,987, which shows an overhead “container system for entertainment and communications equipment.”        
As set forth below, the preferred embodiments of the present invention provide notable advancements over those described in the documents outlined as well as other existing systems and devices.